It has been increasingly popular for food retailers, especially restaurants in the so-called “fast-food” industry, to offer promotional games to attract customers and increase product sales. Such promotional games are usually based upon the distribution to individual customers of a game piece which includes some form of printed text and/or indicia relating to the particular promotional game being played. The game piece usually has some form of covering material which hides the printed text/indicia until removed physically by the customer, such as a layer of an opaque material which must be scratched off or an opaque removable covering sheet. Upon removal of the covering material, the printed text/indicia pertinent to the promotional game will thereby be revealed.
In order to increase worker efficiencies at the point of food sales, it is especially preferred that promotional game pieces be physically attached to or incorporated integrally as a part of the containers in which the food is served. Thus, promotional game pieces have been physically attached to sandwich wrappers, fried food containers, drinking cups and drinking cup lids, to name a few.
Recently, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,311,860 and 5,971,195 (the entirety of each patent being expressly incorporated hereinto by reference) have proposed positioning a game piece in a well of a drinking cup lid. Since the lid of the '860 and '195 patents (and for that matter virtually any other commercially viable drinking cup lid) includes a perforated cross-cut opening to facilitate insertion of a drinking straw, it is necessary to protect the printed indicia of the game piece from being obliterated by the contents of the drinking cup which may seep through the straw opening. According to the '860 and '195 patents, such protection is afforded by a liquid-resistant shield member positioned in covering relationship between the straw opening and the game piece. Specifically, a liquid-resistant shield member is placed flush on the floor surface of a recessed well so as to cover the cross-cut straw opening. The game piece may then be positioned between the shield member and a removable sealing member.
While the game piece lid construction of the '860 and '195 patents may safeguard the actual game piece from damage by liquid seepage through the straw opening, the actual placement of the game piece and shield and sealing members is somewhat cumbersome. It would therefore be desirable if a cup lid and game piece could be provided which promote greater ease of manufacture, while at the same time afford some measure of protection to the game piece from beverage seepage through the straw opening. It is towards fulfilling such a need that the present invention is directed.